He said that Sibanye-Stillwater mine should be held accountable for the death of four mineworkers on Monday. The miners succumbed to heat and gas exposure.

Five miners were overcome by gas when they were underground in Westonaria, Johannesburg. Four were declared dead and one is still missing.

The minister said his department will deal with the mine if they find that the mine has broken any rules.

“These workers were going to a shaft that was not mined for a long time but to allow them in there without ventilating the area, people die. But when we can’t conclusively say this is the reason for that, but that in itself is reckless,” Mantashe said.

WENDY MOTHATA attended and completed her BA in Media Studies at the University of Limpopo, where she was awarded Most Promising Student in Media Studies. She is a recent graduate from the Honors Program in Journalism and Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg. She is also a Fellow in the Duke University Menell Media Exchange, Student Newsroom and resides in Johannesburg. E: wendy@sapeople.com